Love in Jeopardy

Chapter 11

A few days later, Gideon surprised Taryn by asking her to meet him at a residential address in the upscale part of town. The house appeared to be vacant when Taryn pulled up to it. The yard looked professionally landscaped and was neat and tidy.

Puzzled, Taryn got out of her car and walked slowly up the cement walkway. The house looked like it was recently built.

Before Taryn got to the door, she saw Gideon come outside. He was dressed handsomely in one of his business suits. He smiled at her.

"What's going on, Gideon?" she asked, as he took her hand.

"I've been thinking about getting a bigger place," he said. "I wanted to get your opinion of this one."

"Oh," was all she could say. He wanted a bigger place? He hadn't mentioned much about it to her.

Gideon took her inside the foyer. There was a man standing inside waiting for them.

"This is Sam, my realtor," Gideon said, gesturing toward the man.

"Nice to meet you," Taryn said, shaking his hand.

"Shall we start the tour?" Sam asked, smiling as he led them from the foyer to the kitchen. Sam showed them an upscale kitchen with an island and stainless steel appliances. The tile floor led out to the dining area which had room for a large table. There was a huge sunken living room below the dining room. Sliding doors led from the living room to a terraced yard outside where there was a hot tub and more professionally landscaped yard.

"This place would be great for entertaining, don't you think?" Gideon asked as they stood out on the terrace.

"I'm sure it would be," she replied, not familiar with that whole scenario. She had never really had to entertain many people in her small apartment. Was Gideon planning on having lots of parties in the future?

A set of French doors led from the living room into another area. There were lots of windows and the room was quite large.

"This room could be quite good for your studio, couldn't it?" Gideon asked hopefully.

Taryn whirled around and faced Gideon. He wanted to give her this space? She was happy with what she currently had.

"Um, I guess," she answered dubiously. "It seems to have lots of light."

"I know it's not what you're used to, but the layout is perfect for you."

Taryn looked around, feeling more puzzled. "Why are you worrying about me?"

"Because I'm thinking ahead, that's why," Gideon replied. "Don't you think you might live with me someday? I mean, that's the next logical step, isn't it?"

"I guess," Taryn replied. She never considered the idea of living with him. She hadn't lived with anyone else since her foster family days.

Sam showed them the upstairs portion of the house. There was a large master suite with a walk-in closet and huge ensuite bath. There was also a guest bedroom with its own ensuite. They finished the tour downstairs where there was a powder room, laundry room, and den.

"So, what do you think?" Gideon asked as they returned to the foyer.

"It certainly seems to have everything you're looking for," she replied. "Have you looked at many other places?"

"A few. I wanted to get your opinion on this one because it has a good space for your studio."

Sam led them outside where they discussed the attributes of the house while Sam locked the door and put the key back in the lockbox.